Daily Chat: Blueprinting Brett Favre

DEAD POOL
Citing the Palm Beach Post as a source, Dolphins Gab reports that Dolphins defensive end Tony McDaniel has acknowledged that the defensive line has a pool on who will first hit Brett Favre, which is, of course, against NFL rules.

Cheaters.

ENEMY CAMP
Here’s what the Dolphins reporters and bloggers are talking about

RE-PROVING HIMSELF
With the glaring exception of the quarterback position, you gotta like the way Brad Childress approaches deciding who will start: Competition.

The general policy of handing the starting positions to those players who have earned it…recently…definitely creates an atmosphere that does not tolerate complacency.

And that’s a good thing.

Case in point is Lito Sheppard. I was a bit skeptical about his ability to contribute significantly at this stage in his career, but he had a good game against the Saints last week and he’s got a great attitude.

“Obviously, I have a lot to prove and go out and try to prove to everybody that I am the same guy that went to those Pro Bowls (in 2004 and ’06). For whatever reasons, man, I became labeled as something. I don’t know. But it’s good to get out there and re-prove it, so to speak.”

TOBY GERHART
Rookie running back Toby Gerhart has proclaimed himself health but it’s possible he’ll be a healthy scratch on Sunday.

I hope not. I really want to see what the Vikings offense looks like with both him and Adrian Peterson in the backfield and/or with Gerhart as a sub for when Peterson needs a rest.

I have a feeling our run game could be pretty damn devastating with Peterson pounding it out with the majority of the carries but then having Gerhart spell Peterson and still be able to punish a worn-out defense.

SUTURESBryant McKinnie has had them removed from the finger he dislocated against the Saints. He’s good to go Sunday. [GROSS.]

Turns out, jailed hip-hopper Lil Wayne is a big fan of Brett Favre and, if Favre is not necessarily a fan in turn, at least he’s got Wayne in his prayers, MTV’s Shaheem Reid reports.

As least Favre now has some industry connections should he turn to music as a second career. Maybe the Mississippian could invent a new genre: Country Hop? Southern-Fried Rap?

MY BEEF, EXACTLY
I’ve long complained that a lot of the coverage of the NFL is often produced by people who clearly have little clue about the actual game they are covering.

Leave it to Pat Williams to speak truth to power: “You don’t fall into the media stuff, because half them guys, they never played football in their damn life,” ESPN1500.com’s Tom Pelissero reports.

Exactly.

It’s like they’ve never played the game. I would love to see a list of NFL reporters alongside their playing credentials: Never played, played in high school, played in college, semi-pro, former NFL player.

My credentials, for the record, are high school football and currently, touch football every week for the past 10 years (I’m currently on IR with a broken finger but should be back soon). Hey, I’m old.

It’s not that you cannot competently cover the game if you’ve never played it, it is just that there’s a very important perspective you’ll lack if you’ve never played. Be it understanding how a play develops and the roles of each player on the field within that play, to what it feels like to burn a defender, first-hand helps a great deal in reporting the game professionally.